Nottingham Forest will make sure Lewis Grabban is properly ‘ready to go’ before rushing him back into the Championship fray, says Martin O’Neill.

The Reds boss says the £6m striker is making ‘good progress’ – and hopes he will be back in the very near future.

But, after seeing the club’s top scorer sidelined with related Achilles problems three times this season, O’Neill is keen to ensure that he the 31-year-old is given the best chance of playing as many games as possible, during the finale to the season.

Lewis Grabban in action for Forest (Image: Dan Westwell)

Grabban has had another injection to help alleviate the problem and has responded positively to it – but is unlikely to be risked when Hull City visit the City Ground this weekend.

“I think that will be too early for him now. He is making good progress and he has reacted well to the latest injection,” said O’Neill.

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“He is feeling better within himself. You don’t want to step things up too quickly and end up having him miss another couple of games.

“Let’s make sure he is right, for a start. I think both he and the medical team will keep me guided on that one. I am entirely in their hands on that one.

“As a manager you want to get the players out on the field as quickly as possible.

“We are looking long-term – and I am not talking about next season. But we are looking at the run-in we have and trying to make sure that, unless he picks up another type of injury, that he has overcome this problem and that he is ready to go.”

A national newspaper report suggested earlier this week that Grabban’s injury had caused some friction behind the scenes.

The player himself denied this was the case on social media and O’Neill echoed that sentiment.

“I think there was a story broke (in a national newspaper) which Lewis himself refuted. It came as a bit of a surprise to all of us,” said O’Neill.

Nottingham Forest manager Martin O'Neill speaks to his No.2 Roy Keane

“He is doing his best and the medical staff are helping him as well. He is responding, he is doing a lot of work inside and we will try to get him on the grass as soon as we can.

“I think that, if he comes back for us and does not break down again, that would only be good news for us.

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“Achilles’ are those type of injuries that, probably deep down, need proper rest. It is irking him of course and these things can be sore. If you are taking off and you do not feel absolutely at your best, it can drag you down a little bit.

“I am not a medic, but I have asked our medical staff and it is a difficult one to gauge. But he himself reckons that it is getting better by the day.

“It is good to hear, because he is very important for us. He is a natural goal scorer and, with the run in we have, the sooner we can get him back, the better.”

“You know what Matty is like, he is really keen. He trained a couple of days last week, but then felt it again. He missed out today, but he wants to train tomorrow and his level of natural fitness is pretty good.

“From that view point I would not have many worries about that. I would say the same about Lewis as well, because he is a naturally fit lad himself.”